8 Seemingly Useless Things That Are Actually Very Useful

When was the last time you took a really good, hard look at your most reached-for household items? Maybe you have that “grab-and-go” mentality and don’t give your must-haves too much thought. They work, so why pay too much attention to that mysterious feature that seems like it doesn’t quite belong, right?

Wrong! Chances are, you don’t know everything about your favorite items. In fact, many come equipped with super helpful design features that are so hidden, you wouldn’t ever be able to rely on intuition alone to make good use of them.

Don’t believe us? Just scope out these 8 examples of seemingly useless product features and you’ll quickly see what we mean.

The holes on the sides of your Chuck Taylor’s

Nope, those extra couple of metal holes aren’t a fashion statement; they have been included to offer the narrow-footed folks of the world a more versatile fit. Just lace the first couple of loops normally, go through both holes on either side and tighten. Who knew?!

The pom-pom on your winter hat

This chic design element was first used as something solely utilitarian. You see, the puffy little ball was originally attached to sailors’ hats to provide added cushioning and protection to their noggins. Hey—the pom-pom might not be a football helmet, but it probably prevented a bruise or two!

The flaps on your juice boxes

Ever wonder why there are small, triangular flaps on your juice boxes? When we were kids, we yanked them off of the box’s sides for fun, but as it turns out, we were skipping an important step. Once those flaps are spread out like wings, they are meant to be held on each side with tiny fingers for a “squeeze-free” hold. No more spilled apple juice!

The hole in the bottom of your spaghetti spoon

We always thought that the extra hole in the bottom of the pasta spoon was for drainage—and it totally is —but it actually serves another purpose. In addition to getting rid of excess water, the hole was originally designed to measure out dry pasta. One hole-full equals about one serving of the carbolicious ingredient. Strange, but true!

The number on your plastic and glass containers

Grab a bottle of water, turn it over, and take a look at its bottom—you should notice a number printed in the middle of the triangular “reuse” symbol. Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with recycling; it’s there to tell you whether or not the bottle is safe to reuse. Good to know!

The number on your cosmetics bottles

We’ve already told you about this one! The small drawing of a shallow container printed on the labels of beauty products is there to tell you how many months it will take before the item expires. Time to go through that cosmetics drawer!

The ridges on your prescription bottle caps

Have trouble opening those pesky prescription pill bottles? Simply flip the cap upside down and screw back on for fuss-free removal. If you don’t have any little kiddos running around, this is the hack for you!

The color of your twist ties

The color of the twist ties found on bread products aren’t just selected willy-nilly, there is actually a pretty brilliant method to the madness. The color corresponds to the day the product was delivered to the store, which means if you pay attention to the tie, the bread you eat could be a heck of a lot fresher!

Now, just because we’ve decoded these domestic mysteries doesn’t mean you are ready to put them to the test quite yet. Watch Inside Edition’s video below first to see these hacks in action for yourself, and soon you’ll have them mastered!

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We’d love to hear your thoughts on these “useless items.” Were you aware of these items’ true purposes? If so, how did you first learn about them? Do you have any domestic hacks of your own that you would like to share?